A COLLECTION of taxidermy animals hidden away in a Blakedown loft has sold for £11,000 at auction.

The late Kevin Gittoes amassed taxidermy over decades but his wife, Julie, didn’t realise the extent of his collection until after he passed away in August 2021. 

She discovered 12 cased animals hidden in the loft and the garage housed many more examples.

The menagerie of items included a circa 1920s lion’s head with real teeth, Conger eel, otter, white rabbit, badger, fox, hartebeest (African antelope), plains zebra and albino blackbird.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Taxidermy found in the loft Taxidermy found in the loft

Some 69 lots went under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers on February 28. Every item sold achieved a total sales figure of more than £11,000.

The top-selling item was lot 36, an Edwardian cased full mount fox which reached £850. Also sought after was lot 14, an Edwardian cased full mount Otter, which reached £520; lot 64, a baboon shoulder mount, which reached £640, and lot 66, an African lion, which reached £541.

Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “I am delighted Hansons achieved a strong result for this collection, particularly as I know Julie plans to donate to charity Sarcoma UK to honour Kevin. He lost his life to sarcoma, a form of cancer, aged only 69.”

Kidderminster Shuttle: Julie and Kevin Gittoes. Photo: HansonsJulie and Kevin Gittoes. Photo: Hansons

Julie Gittoes, aged 62, said: “Kevin was very proud of his collection. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to sell it at auction. I wanted to pay tribute to Kevin and share something that was really important to him.

“I used to feel a little bit embarrassed when people went into the hall but most people were fascinated by the collection, even the medics who came to look after Kevin when he was ill. It makes me smile now to think of Kevin smuggling those pieces into the loft. I found out his son, James, helped him lift them in.”